For many years the standard straight cylindrical police baton has been an effective tool in the hands of a police officer. This has been the 3.4 centimeter (cm) diameter by 60 cm long model weighing somewhat less than a kilogram.
Recently, an improvement in the basic structure has been evolved; in that an auxiliary right-angle handle, also known as the "Yawara" handle, has been added at one-fourth the distance from one end of the baton.
This additional handle allows new maneuvers that could not be performed with the straight baton. Among these is the ability to grasp the auxiliary handle and rapidly swivel the baton back and forth to ward off potential attackers.
The problem that arises; however, is that after two or three such swings gravity pulls the baton down through the user's hand, making further such motion impossible. The user must then stop and reposition the baton before continuing, leaving open the possibility of attack.
A modified construction that would eliminate this undesirable feature and improve the effectiveness of the baton would therefore be a significant advantage.